Introduction to Technical Theater (2nd Ed. In Production)

A great overview of theater professionals and their responsibilities. This program is also appropriate for acting and survey classes.

Classifies the different roles in the theater hierarchy from producer and director, to conductor and vocal coach, to tech director and the many and varied various technicians.

Takes your students on a video field trip of Proscenium, Thrust, and Arena stages in professional, state-of-the-art facilities and a stage in a school gym.

Tour of a professional theater from the ticket booth to the green room, including the names of all the curtains, shops, backstage and FOH areas.

Visually subdivides the stage into the nine traditional acting areas, and addresses the 8 different directions scenery (and actors) can face the audience.

Hosts: Bob Fowler and Marti Fowler

The 2nd Edition of Intro will have new sections on Theatre History (including staging conventions of different periods), Production Concept, Script Analysis, Theatrical Styles, and other new updated sections. This program is also appropriate for Acting and Survey classes.

A Field Trip In A Box

Intro to Technical Theater takes your students on a virtual tour of different stage facilities and lets them meet working professionals, who explain what it is they do, and how they collaborate with other professionals to get their shows on the boards. In today's budget-crunched educational world, it is often too costly to take students on field trips to see different types of facilities and meet people "in the business." Intro to Technical Theater takes your students through a variety of settings....from state-of-the-art theaters to school gymnasiums.

Theater Hierarchy

What is the difference between a producer and a director? A tech director and a stage manager? A set prop and a hand prop? Intro to Technical Theater brings the producer of the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival into your classroom to talk about the duties of a producer. An actor/director with 16 years of Broadway, regional and international credits talks to your students about what a director does. Intro to Technical Theater explains and shows what each person and crew in a theatrical production is responsible for.

Types Of Stages

Intro to Technical Theater takes your students to various types of performance spaces. There are several types of spaces, like Proscenium, Thrust, and Arena.....state-of-the-art facilities that are professional spaces that are shared amongst university programs. However, a stage can occur in a very different facility, like the space in a high school or middle school. Your students will get a realistic idea of the different kinds of facilities in which people put on plays.

Take A Backstage Tour

Walk through a professional theater that is home to national and international theater, music, and dance companies. Start in the lobby and walk through the auditorium, stopping at the control booth and sound mix position. Go above the auditorium to see the view from the FOH lighting positions. Ride the orchestra pit lift up to stage level and look at all the draperies, electrics, the wing area, the pin rail, and the stage manager's desk. Go behind the stage into the shops, stop at the callboard, and continue into the green room and dressing rooms.

Day 01 and 02: Theater Hierarchy:

Grades 5-8

8. Content Standard:

Understanding context by analyzing the role of theatre, film, television, and electronic media in the community and other cultures.